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When Democrats claimed control of both houses of the Colorado General Assembly in last November’s elections, there was little doubt that two priority issues would be enacted once the legislature convened. Just over halfway through the 120-day session, bills to establish civil unions and to allow illegal immigrants who matriculated at Colorado high schools to receive in-state tuition at public colleges and universities in our state have passed.

As a student living on Chicago’s south side in the early 1990s, I understood that the beginning of spring brought not only warmer days, but the sound of gunfire at night. Sometimes it would be the single shot from a handgun, and occasionally it would be the “pop-pop-pop” of a semi-automatic weapon.

During the first couple months of this year’s legislative session, I supported a bill on which the opponents didn’t feel at all constrained by either the truth or any kind of ethical behavior. And while my policy not to write about things I work on will spare you the details, it reminded me of a learning experience I had early in my career.

My 10-year-old recently asked me what exactly happened on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. Rather than try to explain it, I searched YouTube and found a video of a newscast that relayed in real time the violence of that awful morning.

The shocking and senseless murder of 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut is a painful reminder that schools are not always the safe havens we expect them to be. The incident has caused us all to ask again, how can we improve school safety when resources are limited?

About a week after the November election, I sat down to lunch with two friends from my days in the legislature, one a former high-ranking AFL-CIO officer, and the other a conservative former state senator.

“Mr. Dillinger, why do you rob banks?”
“Because, that is where the money is.”

Robbing banks is one thing. But robbing senior citizens, the mentally ill and an organization that serves kids who have endured domestic violence and homelessness? Not even Jefferson County could rise to that level of Grinchliness during the holidays, right?